Hello! I'm sorry this took a lot of time to get out there. But hey! It is here, and it is long!
It does have some graphic violence part, but it is marked so you can skip it if you want :).
Enjoy!
M.
Chapter XLIII
February 22th, 2005
Underground Sanctuary.
Helen frowned as the alarms of the Colorado Springs entrance went off. She brought up the CCTV footage and crooked her head. There was also an alert of someone known reaching the building.
"Hey mom," Ashley's voice came through the radio. "I just saw the alerts at the entrance. Want me to check it out?"
"I'm going through the security footage as we speak," Helen answered, and she felt Ashley's appearing beside her. "There. That's the alert."
"Is that O'Neill?" Ashley frowned tilting her head. "What is he doing there?"
"I'm not certain. But the person responsible for the alarms going off is he," Magnus said, pointing towards another camera and Ashley knew whoever that was made her mother mad.
"Who is that?" Ashley asked. Helen huffed.
"That's your sister's not-boyfriend."
"Shanahan?"
"Yes," Helen rolled her eyes.
"What is he doing there?"
"He followed Samantha a couple of months ago; he has visited the entrance a few times."
"The alarms you told me not to pay attention to?" Ashley frowned.
"Yes. Shanahan is searching for something, but he doesn't know what."
"And the elevator security is biometrical, so he isn't a threat." Ashley pointed.
"Precisely. Now, he," Magnus said, pointing to the image of Jack on her screen. "I'm not sure why he is here. Has your sister contacted you?"
"No," Ashley said, negating with her head. Helen sighed.
"Fetch General O'Neill before they find each other."
"Too late," Ashley said as they watched them walk to the same place of the building.
"Bloody hell," Magnus pinched the bridge of her nose. "Go, one floor up. See if he can get rid of the cop or find a way to do it yourself."
"Will do."
"Don't do anything foolish," Helen warned, and Ashley nodded before she disappeared.
February 22th, 2005
Abandoned building, Colorado Springs.
Jack had parked his SUV next to a car and had frowned at the oddity. There wasn't anything near the place, and the parked vehicle struck him as weird. But, if he was going to compare his line of work or the reason why he was there in the first place, a car parked in the middle of nowhere made far more sense.
The General looked at the fences separating him from the building, hoping that the Sanctuary had some advanced tech gizmo to show them he was there. They were, after all, his last resort at this point. Inhaling, he opened the fence enough to pass it and forced his way inside. No alarms, no alerts, nothing that could point that they knew he was there. He let out a breath as he walked towards the building.
O'Neill found the gate where they had left the building the only time he remembered being there, and when he was close enough, he pushed it open. Inside was not only empty but dark; Jack patted his jacket until he found his flashlight, and turned it on.
His instincts told him he wasn't alone there, but Jack wasn't sure that screaming 'hello, is there anyone here?' was a very good idea. He was, after all, trespassing. Jack trusted his guts; he always had, and this time wasn't any different. O'Neill walked around, trying to figure out where the elevator that had taken them down before was. He stopped altogether when he saw a second flash of light close to where he was. The General turned his light off and figured that standing still in the blackness was far better disguise than trying to find a place to hide and making some noise by hitting something he couldn't see.
"Hello, is anyone here?" Someone called, and Jack frowned, he knew that voice. Then the light almost reached O'Neill's feet. "Hello? I've seen your light earlier? I come in pe…ace," the other guy stopped as the light of his flashlight shone over dark boots and up until he discovered Jack not amused expression. "Colonel O'Neill?"
"Take that off my face," Jack said, pushing the flashlight to point downwards. "Shannon, right?"
"Shanahan Pete Shanahan."
"That's what I've just said," Jack frowned. "What are you doing here, Shannon? Besides trespassing, I mean."
"I… what are you doing here, Colonel?" Pete asked, crossing his arms.
"I asked first, and it is General."
"I. Where's Sam?"
"Sam?"
"Yes, you know. Blonde, blue eyes, like this tall and a very hot USAF Major," Pete added.
"Nope, I don't know who you are talking about."
"Major Samantha Carter? Works with you at Cheyenne?" Pete asked exasperatedly.
"Oh! You mean Lieutenant Colonel Carter. That is classified." Jack said. "You haven't answered my question, Shannon."
"Shanahan. I," he tried to come up with some explanation.
"How do you know about this place? As far as I know, she hasn't told anyone about it."
"About what?" Pete asked, and Jack managed to control the urge to roll his eyes.
"This place, obviously."
"Ah, she told me."
"She didn't tell you anything," a third voice startled them. "General, I wasn't exactly expecting you here today." Jack didn't need the lights to recognize Ashley's voice.
"Miss Simpson," Jack said, and Ashley snorted at the last name.
"Miss Simpson?" Pete asked, sounding confused.
"Yes, Lisa Simpson," Ashley said, rolling her eyes at the name. "And Mr. Shanahan, if you try and point that flashlight towards me, I will be responsible for how your brain looks out of your body."
"Okay," Pete said, lowering the light again.
"Well, since introductions are out of the way. I need explanations of what you are doing here."
"It's classified," Jack answered calmly.
"Ah, I didn't doubt that, General. And your reason, Mr. Shanahan?"
"Samantha Carter."
"That's not a reason, that's a name," Ashley said, trying not to laugh at the man's expression. It was dark, but her abnormal night vision was beyond good. "And as I've said, she wouldn't give you this address. So, what is it, Mr. Shanahan, the reason why you are here?"
"She isn't answering my calls, so I thought she might be here?" Pete blurted. His comment surprised Ashley.
"Why here?"
"I've followed her here a few times," he said and Ashley's blood boiled. Pete was pinned against the wall before he understood what was going on.
"Go on," she hissed, fighting to control herself.
"I could never find her when she entered this place," Pete confessed, and Ashley pushed him harder against the wall. "The tracker I placed on her car always disappeared once she went past the fences, and whenever that happened, she wouldn't pick my calls. So, I thought."
"That she was here. She is not," Ashley said and freed the man from her grasp. "Samantha is not here, nor was she supposed to be here. You are both trespassers."
"Who are you?" Pete asked.
"Lisa Simpson. You don't want to know more than that. Go, I don't want to see your pathetic ass here unless Samantha Carter brings you here."
"But." Pete started
"General, I need a word with you," Ashley said before she walked to Jack and teleported him to her mother's office.
Pete thought something weird was going on, but there were no lights on, and he had let go of his flashlight before he ended up forcefully against the wall so that he couldn't see a thing. Helped by the light of his torch, he carefully found his way to it and grabbed it before he turned around to search for his companions; however, he couldn't find anyone.
February 22th, 2005
Underground Sanctuary
"Ashley, what did I tell you about doing something foolish?" Helen asked as soon as both the General and her daughter appeared in front of her desk.
"He made my blood boil, mom. He is following Sam! The stupid man put a tracker on her car."
"Yes, I've heard. Luckily all the times she used the Colorado entrance she was down here for a short time. So, we can come up with an explanation if she ever needs one." Helen pointed. Jack used that moment to clear his throat, shifting the Doctor's attention towards him. "General O'Neill."
"Doctor Magnus. Doctor Zimmerman," Jack said.
"Why were you there?" Will asked
"I couldn't find another way to contact you?" He frowned.
"You didn't try pressing nine on the red phone in your office?" Helen asked, tilting her head.
"What?"
"I did mention this when General Hammond was in charge, nine on the red phone connects to a topside line that can get you to me."
"Oh, okay. I'll keep that in mind for next time."
"Sure," Helen said amusedly. "Well, for what I've heard, Samantha is not answering her phone. I know she was supposed to contact us for a visit and she didn't. And now you are here, what's going on?"
"Four days ago, SG-1 left on their mission, a three-day basic check of the planet. They failed to check in on their last scheduled checkpoint. We engaged the wormhole and checked around using the MALP."
"But?" Will asked.
"The gate was guarded. We believe a minor Goa'uld captured SG1."
"And what exactly do you expect us to do with such information?" Helen frowned.
"Well, I can't think of anything else to do. Any member of my teams will be dead the moment they reach the other side."
"Let me get this straight, what you are asking here is for us to go rescue them?" Ashley asked in surprise.
"Yes. Or at least, clear the area around the gate so I can send some other teams to do S&R," Jack said.
"Very well then, we will need more information about this planet."
"We are going?" Ashley grinned.
"I suppose there isn't any other way," Helen frowned.
"Oh, no. There it is, that mischievous glint in your eyes." Will rolled his eyes.
"You have nothing to worry about, dear. You won't be joining us."
"Wait! What?"
"You heard him, William. The General can't send his teams, so I'm not risking you," Helen said firmly, and Jack had to admire her determination.
"But."
"No. You are mortal, and you can't heal fast enough."
"What if you can't either?"
"We will send Nikola first," she said firmly not leaving space to any other comments. "General, we will need that data asap."
February 22th, 2005
Somewhere in Hollow Earth.
After Ashley had teleported him back to the entrance, Jack hurried to get out of the building and on his way to the SGC. Shanahan's car was still parked next to his SUV. But he couldn't care less. The Doctor knew Shanahan was around, and Jack knew Magnus was very fond of safety and she could deal with the annoying man. So, he turned on his engine and returned to the base.
Once at the SGC, the General had collected all the data related to P5Z-3X9 and pressed nine on the red phone. He said 'Helen Magnus' before he heard the line shifting. A couple of similar exchanges later, he was on the phone with her.
The Doctor had instructed him to grab the gate address, telemetries, and all information he could regarding weapons they might encounter and then return home. His home, of course. So, when he entered his living room an hour later, Jack wasn't surprised when he found one Ashley Magnus waiting for him. Ashley neared him, asking if he had everything he needed. He managed to nod once before she teleported them.
The General was surprised when he appeared in the middle of a deserted-like area. There was a steel gate that didn't make sense at all, because not only it would open right into a cliff, but beside it, there was only space, no fences or anything that would explain its reason to be there. As he inspected the area with a confused frown, he found the four people that would help him standing close to him with plenty of bags at their feet.
"It's the gate that marks the limits of this Sanctuary," Will explained noticing Jack's frown.
"Isn't it kinda useless without fences around it? What? Don't tell me he drank all your fences money away?" Jack asked, making Helen chuckle.
"Au contraire, there was a big investment to our defensive walls. Show him please, William. I'll go through security." Helen said, walking to the gate and the security measures that it held.
Will repeated the process he once did for Sam, grabbed a rock and threw it to the EM Shield.
"Oh."
"We had to modify ours, so it allows me to teleport in and out of it without killing me," Ashley grinned as she shouldered a couple of the bags. The gate opened, and they stepped through. "We need to do a couple of sphere changes."
"Sphere?" Jack frowned. Helen grinned and pressed a couple of buttons to un-cloak the sphere.
"Yes, our means of transportation between Sanctuaries," Helen pointed towards the now visible sphere seemingly floating above the cliff.
"Are we going? Or should I ask young Magnus to bring out the power snacks while we talk?" Nikola huffed.
"A bit anxious, aren't we?" Helen grinned as she grabbed a bag and entered the sphere.
"So, why aren't we just teleporting there?" Jack asked once they were all inside and moving.
"The EM Shield there," Ashley shrugged, rummaging a bag and starting to pass some food to Nikola and Helen.
"Let's say that the shield there is thicker. It needs to be to maintain the appearances in case there is an incoming or outgoing wormhole. Also, the area where we are going is a highly seismic one, and we don't want to be hindered by it," Nikola added, puncturing a blood bag before pouring it on a glass and drinking it.
"Is that?"
"My blood, yes," Helen said, munching her sandwich. "He needs to be able to recover fully quickly. Hence, he needs my blood."
"It looks way more disgusting than it is," Ashley grinned, her cup too filled with Helen's blood.
"And you?" Jack asked, looking at Helen.
"I can't drink my blood, General. I must survive with food, not that I'm complaining," Helen grinned. "We could use this time to learn what you know about their weapons."
They stopped shortly after that to change to a second and then a third sphere. Soon the group was entering the facility in which they kept the stargate. Jack snorted, the facility looked like the SGC in appearance at least. There was an empty locked room that contained the Stargate itself; and a higher viewpoint that held the DHD, several computers and equipment he wasn't sure what they were.
The Sanctuary group lowered the bags they were carrying on to the floor of the control room, and after rummaging through one, Ashley and Nikola disappeared with smaller bags on their hands. O'Neill frowned. Magnus smiled at him and presented him with a package.
"Here, General. You can get changed over there," Helen said, passing it to Jack. "You might need that if we need you to come after us once we clear the gate."
"What is this?" He asked, it was heavy and looked like leather.
"Our take on Kevlar," Helen grinned, grabbing her own and disappearing behind the door Ashley had used.
When Jack finally got out of the changing room, he tried not to show how uncomfortable he was in the clothes they had given him. Of course, the knowing smile on the Doctor's face told him he was busted.
The women had what looked like skin-tight leather pants and sleeveless blouses, along with boots and a short jacket for Ashley and a midthigh one for Helen. Nikola had a three-piece suit version of it, and Jack had a BDU version of it, just a bit heavier and smaller than the one he usually wore.
Nikola passed him what looked like a pair of glasses, but they only had one plastic like glass over the right eye side. Jack frowned.
"In case we need you there," Nikola said.
"Should I ask what these are?" O'Neill asked, observing the device skeptically.
"Enhanced reality glasses," Nikola announced, and Helen rolled her eyes.
"You need to improve your naming skills," Will chuckled.
"Name isn't important; what is important is what those do," Nikola pointed out.
"They will give us multiple views at the same time," Helen said. She touched the right side, where the frame was thicker. "That's a camera, it will allow us to see through each other's eyes, and it will send live footage back here as long as the gate is open," she said, touching the lens.
"Won't that get in the way? I mean, how do you know what is his, which is hers and yours?"
"We've trained with these before. Sam also has training using them," Ashley shrugged. "But if you don't feel comfortable or feel they will get in your way, keep them strapped to your chest, then we will still have your point of view."
"Are we all ready?" Nikola asked, turning on a computer and typing something on it.
"Yes," the two Magnus women said at once.
"General, we will need the address now," Helen said, and Jack nodded, he got in front of the DHD and pressed the correct buttons. In the other room, the wormhole connected. "Let's go."
Nikola and Ashley nodded, but Helen lingered behind for a bit. She smiled at Jack.
"We will bring her back, General," she announced before she turned towards Will. She bit her lower lip and looked at him. "I love you," Helen whispered and tugging him from his shirt, she kissed him.
"I love you," Will said. Then, she let go of him and rushed to the other room.
When Helen reached the gate room, she looked at Nikola and Ashley as she took a deep breath.
"May God have mercy on our souls," she whispered.
"I think we crossed that bridge a long while ago," Nikola countered. "Shall we?" he said, turning his camera on and walking confidently through the wormhole.
February 22nd, 2005
P5Z-3X9
Nikola grinned as over two dozen Jaffa staffs pointed towards him and wondered if he would be able to survive if all of them hit him at the same time.
"Good evening," he said, despite that it was evident that it was still morning on that planet. "Are you getting this?"
"Yes," Ashley grinned, appearing next to him. "A very nice welcome party you got here, Vlad."
"Care to do something about it?"
Ashley turned her face towards him and saw a big toothy grin taking over Nikola's expression. Probably one that her mother would consider charming. But before she dwelled on it too much, she grabbed his forearm and teleported them behind the Jaffa lines. When they looked at each other again, they were both sporting their black eyes, vampire teeth and their claws were out.
"Hi," Ashley said to the confused Jaffa, before they turned around, spotted them and started to attack. Back on Earth, Helen noticed the distraction would allow her to go unharmed, so she rushed to the wormhole and jumped in. From the monitors, William and Jack saw her spin out of the event horizon; detach the weapons she had strapped to her thighs and fire them before the Jaffa had even a chance to spot her.
"Well done!" Helen said, not even panting, once Nikola and Ashley were back to their human form, and the two dozen Jaffa lay in a mix of dead and stunned across the field.
They rushed through the woods, separating them from the complex where Jack believed SG-1 could be — only stopping to get rid of a couple of Jaffa teams on their way.
"We might need the General," Ashley said after teleporting herself to the front gate of the compound and back to were Helen and Nikola were waiting. "I'm not sure how that lock works."
"General? Can you hear us?" Helen said to the comm she had attached to her jacket.
"Yes."
"Can you guide us on opening the Goa'uld gates?" She asked.
"I'm coming over."
"Just tell us how to open it," Nikola hissed. But the view coming from his camera announced them he had already crossed.
"Fetch him, Ashley," Helen said, trying not to roll her eyes. "Will, close the gate when Ashley is back from there."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'll see you later," Magnus said, and next thing Helen knew was that they were all standing next to the compound still closed door.
"General," Helen said sternly.
"Well, the usual code didn't work," Jack shrugged, and Helen felt she could kill him herself if only he weren't so damn worried about her daughter. Beside her, Nikola rolled his eyes.
"This could take forever," Tesla complained as he and Helen studied the symbols. "Do you know if overloading it with energy works to disable it?" he asked, turning towards Jack.
"I'm not sure, probably. Carter did that once or twice," O'Neill trailed trying to remember what had happened in those occasions. Nikola sighed and used his ability to channel electricity to overcharge the entrance panel. "It could've not worked too," Jack shrugged. But then, the door slid open. "See, told ya' it would work," he grinned, and Nikola kept the urge to strangle him at bay by taking point.
"General," Helen said, stopping him, especially after the look Nikola had given her. "Keep yourself behind us. I am not joking; these clothes can help, but they can't revive you."
Jack wanted to complain and tried not to roll his eyes at the Doctor; he was, after all, well versed on getting in and out of these kinds of sticky situations. But for some reason, he didn't. There was something in the way Magnus' voice had changed and the way she looked at him, that made him understand that getting killed under her watch while trying to rescue her daughter was not something she would allow to happen. Somehow, he felt honored.
"General? Understood?" Helen asked, and this time, he only nodded in agreement. When she moved, he followed close.
Nikola and Ashley went in first, and they could hear their advance by the sheer number of metallic thuds that sounded as they moved. They saw the duo stop when they reached the end of the corridor and had to decide on which way to go. Helen clenched her jaw.
"Nikola take him. Go left. Ashley, with me. We go right."
"But Helen," Nikola started to complain.
"You are the only one that can keep yourself and him alive at the same time. I need to make sure I can keep my daughter safe."
"Follow me, General," Nikola said, his voice changing back to his vampiric tone.
The two groups moved quickly, getting rid of any guards they could find. But no matter how far inside they were, they still couldn't find Sam or SG-1.
February 22, 2005
Goa'uld Compound – Right Corridor
P5Z-3X9
"Bloody Hell," Helen hissed shooting at a Jaffa who had managed to hit her arm with his blast. The mother and daughter duo hid behind a column as the Jaffa moved closer to them. They tried to plaster themselves as much as possible to the wall when Ashley touched something. The something turned out to be a door lock, and she used her strength to break it, hoping that brute force would work too. The wall behind them slid open, and they ended up falling back into a foul-smelling room. Looking at the two women sprawled on the floor, the Jaffa laughed and aimed at them.
"No!" someone screamed, but Helen rolled over while Ashley teleported herself behind the Jaffa effectively killing him.
"That was close," Ashley said and crooked her head. "Hey, mom, we found them!" she grinned. Helen turned around again only to find that the person who had screamed before belonged to one Daniel Jackson. Teal'c walked towards her and helped her up.
"What are you doing here?" Daniel asked.
"Rescuing you," Ashley grinned. "Where's Sam?"
"We don't know. We were on our way back when they landed their ship. They covered the gate, and we couldn't find a way to pass. They found and captured us, and after taking us to the System Lord, they brought us here."
"Do we know who he is?" Helen asked, taking a flashlight out of her backpack and assessing them quickly for injuries.
"A minor Goa'uld called Mullo," Daniel said, and Helen raised an eyebrow.
"Mullo? The Celtic god associated with the God of War and Mars?" Magnus asked.
"Yes? How you know about Mullo?"
"I'm old," Helen grinned brightly, then her eyes widened. "Oh, bloody hell we need to hurry to them."
"To them?" Daniel asked, but the two women were already rushing. The image on their lenses too disturbing to get there slowly.
February 22, 2005
Goa'uld Compound – Left Corridor
P5Z-3X9
"Remain here," Nikola ordered, and Jack huffed stubbornly following him. Then he heard a blast and saw Nikola doubling over right in front of him. "Son of a bitch," the vampire growled and pushed Jack towards the wall. "Remain here!" He ordered again, and when several staff blasts went by, Jack was grateful he wasn't in the line of fire.
The General heard the vampire mutter some words which he assumed were swearing. Then, he saw two Jaffa bodies flying past him. The horror sealed on their faces forever, only disturbed by the feet of another flying body.
Jack risked peaking out to see if he was free to move. He saw Tesla walking purposely towards him, keeping a hand on his side as if he was trying to cover something. Jack noticed that Nikola's jacket was torn on the left side of his abdomen.
"Let's go," Nikola ordered, and O'Neill noticed he was putting pressure on a wound. Then, as the wound closed, he saw that the fabric of his clothes was getting created again.
"Whoa, that's."
"An abnormal capability that was transferred from an insect to our technology for protection," Nikola pointed. "And a wound I wouldn't have gotten if certain General knew how to take orders."
"You can't blame me for being hit," Jack said.
"No. I can blame you for being not hidden when the Jaffa shot at you and forced me to step in front of you. Geez, what is that smell?"
"These got to be the torture rooms," Jack said, breathing through his mouth.
-Start of Graphic Content -
O'Neill opened one of the doors closer to where they were and found several bodies in different states of decomposition hanging from the most different torture machines.
"She better not be on this side," Nikola hissed. Jack noticed that Tesla's eyes turned black as he considered that his daughter could be one of the bodies they found.
They opened several doors frantically and found the same contents, bodies left to rot. They reached the last part of the corridor; only four doors remained unchecked. When they opened one, the types of clothes told them the bodies were all females at some point.
Nikola walked out of the room, tensing up. After that, they slowed down the rhythm taking their time before pushing the doors open. Finally, they stopped in front of the last remaining one. Tesla clenched his jaw, but he couldn't find the courage to open it. Jack looked at him and understood perfectly what the vampire was feeling; he too didn't want to open that door if that meant the worst. Be that as it may, there was only one way to find out. Clenching his jaw, Jack pushed the door open, and they both stood rooted to their spots.
There in the middle of the room, over a torture table, was a beaten-up Sam. The parts of her body that were not covered by her tattered clothing showed a diverse variety of colors, and the metallic smell of blood and the pools of red liquid around the table pointed to exactly how bad they had tortured her.
-End of Graphic Content -
The only thing that Nikola found in him to do was turning off his camera. He stretched his arm effectively blocking Jack from going inside and pointed to his lenses. Jack threw them towards Nikola and rushed to Sam's side.
On the table, Jack noticed that she wasn't moving. His Sam was not only swollen but cold to the touch, and no sign pointed she was breathing. He searched for her pulse frantically but couldn't find it.
"No," Jack cried out. He embraced her tightly, her body limp and unresponsive. "You can't leave me, Sam. Please, don't leave me," for once he didn't care if he was breaking a rule or all of them, he just wanted her to embrace him back, alive and smiling at him.
Helen entered the room then, throwing her lenses to Ashley and pushing a shocked Nikola out of the room, and closed the door behind her.
"Oh, God, Sam. I never even told you how much I love you," Jack whispered to her ear.
"General, you need to let me check her," Helen said softly. Her heart went out to him, recognizing the same pain she had felt several times during her lifetime, the complete loss of the love of her life. Then she shook herself, "General, I need to check if she is alive."
"She doesn't have a pulse; she's not breathing."
"Please," Helen said. And Jack nodded, trying to compose himself. Magnus took something from the backpack Jack hadn't noticed she had and placed it on Sam's heart. "Thank God," Helen let out a deep sigh of relief and with a smile raised her eyes to look at the General. "She's in a death-sleep. We need to get her out of here and connected to some scanners to see how badly she is hurt. Her current state is the result of several sessions of torture, and she is also malnourished."
"She is alive?"
"Yes, General," Helen whispered. "You are lucky; you might get a chance to tell her how you feel about her. Now, I need you to get yourself together. I'm going to get Ashley to teleport us close to the gate. There might be some Jaffa on our way out, and I need you alert. Let me know when you can do it," Magnus said.
"I'm good to go," Jack said, taking one last sorrowful look at Sam.
Helen walked towards the door and opened it, "She's alive, but badly hurt. We need to get out of here as fast as possible," she announced while passing a couple of weapons to Teal'c and Daniel.
"Ashley, take them to the gate and come back for us."
"On it," Ashley said; disappearing first with Nikola and Daniel and then to grab Teal'c. "The gate is clear; we can go," Ashley informed, then glanced down towards Sam's body. "Son of," Ashley stopped herself. "It looks way worse live."
"I know. Let's go," Helen told her.
"General, you will need to grab on to my shoulder," Ashley told him as she carefully grabbed Sam from the table. Ash looked to each side of her shoulders to make sure she had everyone and teleported them all to the gate.
"I thought you said it was clear!" Helen shouted as they appeared in the middle of Jaffa shooting at them.
"It was when I dropped them off," Ashley said. When Daniel spotted them, he started dialing back.
"You need to add the location of the Sanctuary gate," Helen shouted at him, and Daniel pressed the eight symbol they needed. The wormhole established.
"Will, are you there?"
"Yes. I can only see Ashley's cam, is everything okay?" Will's voice reached Helen's comm.
"We are heading back," Helen announced.
"Take her and go," Ashley said to Nikola as she teleported close to him. The moment he had Sam in his arms, Ashley disappeared and started to collect people and push them towards the wormhole. Once she was sure they were all on the other side, she crossed, and the wormhole closed behind her.
"I thought you said we needed to take her to an infirmary!" Jack shouted, noticing they weren't back at the SGC but at the underground facility from where they had departed.
Helen didn't say anything, but she and Nikola started to move towards the interior of the place, towards a corridor he hadn't seen before. Soon, Sam was placed on a hospital bed and had all kinds of equipment attached to her body.
"She is fine, resting if you will. Now please get out," Helen said, glaring at all the present men. "You too, Nikola."
Once the room was devoid of men, Helen went to the adjoining bathroom and prepped a warm bath. Knowing that moving wouldn't harm her daughter, Helen detached Sam from all the equipment carefully, and with Ashley's help, they moved her to the tub.
"Thank you; you don't need to remain now. I can call you when I finish," Helen said, and Ashley nodded.
"I'll wait out there, just let me know," Ashley said and closed the door behind her.
"Oh, darling," Helen said, turning her attention to Sam and caressed her face gently. "You gave me quite a scare," she whispered and sighed, detaching her feelings from the situation as her experience had taught her.
Then, she started to carefully bathe Sam, fighting with her memories of waking up after being tortured. The smell of her wounds and the fragility of human nature had made her unable to face what had happened to her the first time. Although she knew this wasn't Sam's first rodeo at being tortured, she knew by the expression on her teammates' faces that she had never gotten to the death sleep point before.
After she finished bathing her daughter, she dressed Sam in a hospital gown and asked Ashley to place her back on her bed. Helen attached all the equipment again in the proper places, and then she opened the door to let the men enter the room.
"Why are we here?" Jack asked
"I have the best resources to tend her here, General," Helen said. "Besides, how exactly would you explain our presence in your gate room?"
"Goa'uld prisoners?" He offered, and Helen chuckled.
"This is by far the best solution, General. I imagine one of you have a peaceful planet's address stuck in your minds. Once she is awake, they can go to that planet and return to the SGC from there. The only thing you will need to explain in your reports will be how exactly you got out of that planet."
"I guess it does make sense," Jack said.
"I will need to check you all to verify you are not injured. I can provide you with medical care if necessary. And, General, I believe you will be able to bring your Doctor Frasier up to speed with the situation. "
"I'm not leaving Carter's side," Jack announced. Helen sighed.
"Very well then, we will need to return to my Sanctuary. Due to the extent of her injuries, Samantha won't wake up in the next fourteen to twenty-four hours. We can set a line, so you can call the Doctor and organize for her to join us. So that you can polish the details before you need them. But first, I'm going to check you all."
"You can skip Ashley and me, Helen," Nikola announced; once again sipping from their drink of sustenance.
February 24th, 2005
Underground Sanctuary
Sam blinked and opened her eyes slowly. It was too bright, and there were too many beeping sounds. She felt a hand holding hers and the sound of a soft snore coming from her side. Curiosity took the best of her as she finally forced her eyes to focus.
A mostly gray-haired head lay beside her hand, and her heart skipped a beat when she noticed it was Jack. Her Jack, she smiled. She looked around confused, there was no one else on sight, and the room wasn't the SGC infirmary. However, she knew where she was since she had spent a few days there before.
Jack whispered something, but the sheets muffled it, so she didn't quite understand what he said. Sam inhaled deeply and smiled, "I love you, Jack," she whispered, allowing herself to imagine how she would feel the day she was able to say those words aloud. And then, she moved to try and touch his hair.
The movement woke him up, and Jack didn't know why he wasn't jumping out of joy just by seeing Sam's blue eyes open and her face devoid of any bruises and marks.
"Hum, hi," Sam grinned.
"Hey, Carter. You gave us quite the scare."
"Death sleep?" She wondered. "The last thing I remember was being tortured because I couldn't stop myself from healing. They wanted to know my secret, so they wouldn't let me go, and then my body finally shut down."
"Yeah, Doctor Magnus theorized that the last two guards had just left you for dead a few moments before we arrived. The wounds were too fresh."
"How did I end up here?" she asked.
"The General needed people who could survive attempts of being killed," Helen grinned entering the room at that point. "And I happen to know one vampire and two women who are very difficult to kill. Welcome back, darling," Helen grinned, bending down to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"
"As if I just woke up from the best sleep I've ever had," Sam smiled
"Great! Then, General, if you leave us, I can give her one last check and her BDUs so that she can get dressed. You should find your friends in the dining room. Ashley can take you back to your house, and I will take them to the gate." Jack left the room under the watchful gaze of almost identical eyes. Then, once he closed the door on his way out, Sam sighed.
"How bad was it?" she asked. Helen grimaced.
"Awful. We need to improve your capability of keeping yourself wounded, Samantha," Magnus said. "You were pretty good the last time we tried," she asked in concern.
"We never got to the amount of damage they did, nor would I ask you to, mom," Sam said. Helen sighed.
"For the number of bruises, you still had, and Nikola's recounting of the events leading to finding you, I'm assuming you lost consciousness not too long before they found you. And that the lasts Jaffas they encountered were responsible for your condition. Do you remember what happened?" Helen asked in worry. Chewing her lower lip, Sam nodded once.
"They took us to Mullo's, and I identified myself as the team leader. He laughed and ordered his Jaffa to get all the information they could from me. I tried to stop them, but I guess I got zatted; the next thing I remember is hanging from some chains as someone threw water to my face. Then the hits started."
"The scans showed an inordinate number of broken bones and damaged organs," Helen said.
"I guess," Sam shrugged. "At first, I could avoid healing myself, but I think that once the damage was too much, there was not enough control to stop my body from healing itself. When they noticed I wasn't feeling the pain I was supposed to feel; they started to hit me harder. I'm not sure how long it was."
"Too long," Helen sighed. "Here, Ashley grabbed this from your closet. We hope you don't mind, the one you had on was rendered unusable. Once you are ready, I'm going to escort you and your team back to the Stargate," she said, turning around to leave the room.
"Mom?" Sam called stopping her.
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me, darling," Helen said and cupped Sam's face with one hand stroking her cheek with her thumb. "I will wait for you, and we will talk about this, even if you don't like the idea, I've been there, and I know you will need to talk to someone about it."
"I know."
"Would you also tell me what happened when the replicators got you?"
"I don't know if I can."
"When you do, I'll be there."